Coniopternium
Extinct genus of litopterns
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coniopternium is an extinct genus of macraucheniids from the Late Oligocene of South America. Fossils of Coniopternium have been found in the Agua de la Piedra, Deseado, and Sarmiento Formations of Argentina,[1][2] the Salla Formation of Bolivia,[3] and the Moquegua Formation of Peru.[4]
| Coniopternium | |
|---|---|
| |
| Astragali of Coniopternium andinum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | †Litopterna |
| Family: | †Macraucheniidae |
| Subfamily: | †Cramaucheniinae |
| Genus: | †Coniopternium Ameghino, 1894 |
| Type species | |
| †Coniopternium andinum Ameghino, 1894 | |
| Species | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
†Notodiaphorus crassus Loomis, 1914 | |
Taxonomy
Coniopternium was first described by Ameghino in 1895 based on fossils found in the Sarmiento Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina. 19 years later, in 1914, the species Notodiaphorus crassus had been described, whose fossils were discovered in the La Flecha locality of the Deseado Formation in Santa Cruz Province.[5] However, later authorities have since synonymized Notodiaphorus with Coniopternium andinum.[6]